“Spirit, lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior” –from *Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)

A friend sent *this song to me last night. Unaware that my word for the year is “faith,” he sent me a song about faith. It’s one I’ve heard before – we sing it at church. The song is soul achingly beautiful; it brings tears to my eyes and makes me long to be held in my Savior’s arms every time I hear it. (If you’ve never heard it, I included the Youtube link below.) I fell asleep last night and woke up this morning to it running through my head. I think this will be my anthem for the year. It fits where I’m at perfectly.

I spent 2014 learning to trust God in new and deeper ways. And though 2015 is my year of faith, I can already see that this year’s lessons are just going to carry over from, build on, and complement the ones from last year. Inspired by this song, I prayed what some may consider to be a dangerous prayer this morning: though I believe my trust in God is absolute and my faith is unshakable I asked Him to deepen my trust in Him and to strengthen my faith. Why could that be considered a dangerous prayer? Because, much like praying for patience, where you develop patience by continually being put in situations that require you to exercise it, I know that asking God to deepen my trust and strengthen my faith may well result in being put in potentially uncomfortable (at the least) situations which will require me to exercise them. But the very deepest desire of my heart is to become more and more like Jesus, so to anything that would bring that about I can only say, “whatever, Lord.” Whatever You have for me, whatever You want for me, and whatever it will take to get me there…that’s what I want too.

And as I write these things I can suddenly see in my mind’s eye a picture of Peter climbing out of the boat, wind whipping his hair and waves crashing against him, to walk on a stormy sea toward Jesus. This picture comes to me often. It’s a lesson that can be applied to so many different situations: as long as he kept His focus on Jesus, Peter, a regular human being just like you and me, walked on water. Think about that for a minute. He walked on top of the water…just thinking about such a thing fills me with awe. But as soon as he diverted his focus to the storm raging around him he began to sink. Trust and faith are developed in the stormy circumstances of our lives. When we exercise them and God comes through, providing for our needs (responding in whatever way He feels is best and on His timetable), trust is deepened and faith is strengthened. He has brought me through some pretty nasty storms thus far and He will never leave me or forsake me – of this I am certain. So I face 2015 without fear, assured of my Savior’s constant care.

My soul is even more at peace than usual today, resting in His ever-present, unconditional love for me. Undeserving as I am, covered by His sacrifice on the cross, He has made me worthy to come to Him, to hold my arms out to Him at any time and know that He will always reach back and pull me close; and I can curl up on my Heavenly Father’s lap and rest my head on His shoulder – safe, comforted, and cherished.

After all I am, wholly and without reservation, His…

…and He is mine.

“I will call upon Your name

Keep my eyes above the waves

When oceans rise

My soul will rest in Your embrace
I am Yours and You are mine”

Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)